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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge mound of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior revelation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal dumps throughout the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial violations and were a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is made up of what seems to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger dumps is probably to be larger, as the environment body has in the past indicated it does not possess information on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

Most sites are in rural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report many are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by charging much less than licensed companies to receive and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington area site started recently due to concerns over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environmental crime team said that the agency would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its active inquiry.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and permit the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what happened and who was involved".

"The unauthorized tip at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and officials understand the public's frustration at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government representative supported the detentions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the ecology and distress to the surrounding community.

"Our government is dedicated to stamping out this kind of illegal activity throughout the UK, by augmenting resources to tackle illegal dumping, employing more personnel and implementing stricter controls and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime squad and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was let go pending further investigations.